Obituaries John Harrison (40-47) Born 2 September 1929, died 15 May 2017, aged 87 In late 1947, four of us from Samuel Middlebrook’s History Sixth went up to Cambridge at scholarship time; John Harrison among them. Alas, he failed to win an award, a disappointment that caused considerable soul searching. His thoughts then turned (not very enthusiastically) to Law, thinking to follow his brother Vincent Harrison (41-48). However, two years National Service barred the way. John was posted to Austria. Perhaps it was his first views of the Alpine lands, with their striking land-forms, plus the attractions of an outdoor life, that turned his mind toward geology. This would be a bold step; a decision made in his youth, yet one which would contribute richly to the rest of his long life. So, 1954 saw him as a Petroleum Geologist working in oil search for BP. Thereafter his career makes remarkable reading, taking him to five continents and some 18 countries. The School Song tells us: “Far went they forth from the school of the North”. John went forth indeed: Bahrain, Abu Dhabi and Kuwait, Sicily, Libya and Algeria, Columbia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, Kenya, Trinidad and Brazil, Alaska, New York and Germany. His career climaxed as Regional Exploration Manager for the Middle East, Africa and Ireland, areas of major importance and responsibility, especially when one recalls that on leaving school he seemed destined to be a Provincial Solicitor, perhaps in some legal backwater. His job also led to his marriage. In 1962 he and Nina met in California, where her father worked for Texaco. They would have two daughters and three grandchildren. After retirement from BP and a short period as a private consultant they moved to Devon to be near one of their
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daughters. However her husband’s job soon took her elsewhere, leaving John and Nina to rethink their retirement home. They decided to return to the North, moving finally to a flat in Corbridge. Though, while at school, John lived in Whitley Bay, he had been born in Hexham. So Corbridge, only three miles distant, was in every sense a homecoming. Nina writes that her husband loved his work. Being, ‘in the field’ offered an insight into those many countries that a desk in their capitals would not have given. In short, life as a Geologist was never, ‘just a job’. Lucky him! How many spend their working lives doing what most pleases them? Lucky too that Cambridge turned him down! But it took more than luck to succeed in all he then did. Thinking back to schooldays: was there a clue that pointed his way toward that tough, upward climb through Britain’s biggest company? Was it, one wonders, his skill and pluck in the RGS boxing team, whose final victory against St Paul’s School, London, made us national champions in that sport? John died in Corbridge on 15 May, 2017, aged 87. As one of the best of a fine harvest of Novocastrians, I salute his memory. By Derek Williams (39-48)
